LLMs: the new mainframe?
Good afternoon!
I may have a pretty massive scoop that is AI-adjacent. Watch this space. Sorry to be a tease but boxes must be checked, ducks aligned, etc.
In the meantime, I hope this week’s batch of stories finds you well and in excellent spirits.
Steve
Frontier models are to neural networks as mainframes were to the Internet?
Andrew Trask argues that frontier LLM models are this generation’s version of mainframe computers. Hot stuff when they debuted but doomed to lose out to the power of networks. Networks of small AI models are already faster, cheaper, and more accurate.
Anthropic sued over usage limits on pricier subscription plans
Analysts have been raising flags over Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s pricing (and their business models in general), and now those concerns seem warranted. A federal lawsuit claims that Anthropic misled users about usage limits on its Max 5x and Max 20x plans. The suit filed by Karl Kahn seeks class action status. The suit alleges that the actual usage caps are below those advertised, and that they are hard to determine.
AI-use among the US workforce is up 3% vs 2025
A state- and county-level review of AI use by Microsoft finds additionally that AI use is higher in metropolitan versus rural areas (not shocking!). What is surprising is that, while the US leads the world in the development of AI, it ranks only 21st globally in terms of AI adoption.
Figma now lets you capture web pages as editable Figma files
It’s a Chrome extension, and it lets users edit elements on page with no coding skills or agent required. The feature is currently in beta and available only on paid plans.
LinkedIn releases its creator marketplace
Now brands can connect on LinkedIn with creators. Could be thought-leader ads, speaking gigs, or branded partnerships. Currently invite-only.
Google is consolidating various AI services under the Gemini Enterprise roof
“Google aims to create a unified Gemini surface that integrates its dispersed tools, pursuing the same super-app goal as its competitors but from a slightly different perspective.”
Android studio is now a tab in Gemini Business. It has also added a skills marketplace where you can download skills optimized for Google’s suite of AI products.
It's easy for brands to game AI search on sites with user-generated content
13 words typed into user-generated content on a site like Reddit or Wikipedia may be all it takes to manipulate ChatGPT and Google’s AI search. There is now a cat and mouse game between moderators trying to protect sites from marketing spam and the companies doing the spamming. R/biohackers has had to shut down all discussions of peptides because companies selling them are posing as users. LLMs often return content that reads similar to an AI-user’s query language.
Anthropic's paper on AI's impact on the job market
Anthropic looks like it’s trying to be responsible, compassionate, and proactive in its approach to work-force disruptions that its products may trigger. The paper can also be seen as clever marketing, however.
